Overall Rating:

Review Summary

My Mother and I went to Alaska from July 28th, 2012 until August 4th, 2012. We did a cruise with Princess Cruise Lines, Sapphire Ship.

Our room was beautiful, we had a Mini-Suite, and a balcony that allowed us to have amazing views of Alaskan wildlife, scenery, and glaciers. The bathrooms in Mini-Suites had full tubs, which was a first that I had ever seen on a cruise ship. It was spacious! There was a closet area, with plenty of hangars to hang clothes up, and a large tall cabinet to store items in. We had two LCD TV's, one facing the beds, and the other facing the seating area. There was a complete separate seating area with a sofa, coffee table, and chair. Lovely! Our balcony was large as well, we were able to sit out and enjoy the scenic views of the trip.

Staff was AWESOME - so friendly, willing to help out with everything!

Food - Also delicious! Definitely better than other cruise ship food. The cafe was immediately above us on the 14th floor, so all we did was walk a few flights of stairs or took the elevators up and grab tea, coffee, water... snacks. We did not need to try room service for that reason. We did select dining, and ventured to multiple restaurants. They all offer the same "main dining room" food, but also provide a separate menu with daily offerings catered to that type of restaurant. For example, if we went into the "Mexican Themed" restaurant, they would have the normal MDR menu, but then also provide a menu with Mexican flavors! I enjoyed that!

We visited three cities in Alaska, starting with Kechitkan, Juneau, and ending with Skagway. The final two days we were in Alaska, we went to Glacier Bay (rainy all day), and then to the College Fjords. Absolutely breathtaking views of the glaciers.

In Juneau, we visited Mendenhall Glacier, where we were able to see large wild salmon (60 pounds) running up the stream, and then we even caught two black bears eating salmon.

In Skagway, we walked through the quaint town, and then went up 3,300 feet to the White Pass Klondike Summit over in Yukon, Canada. We were originally going to take the train, however decided to opt for a bus tour instead, which allowed for us to make multiple stops and capture photos of the scenic route via Klondike Highway.

We spent two days at sea, one was to view the Glacier Bay. Absolutely amazing. Rangers and Pilots from the area boarded our ship to educate us with the wildlife and glaciers. Only two cruise line ships are allowed to come through the Inside Passageway a day, and then a handful of private charter boats can see the glaciers. Rainy and gloomy day, but the glaciers were gorgeous.

After visiting Glacier Bay, we went to view the College Fjords, which was the icing on the cake. Gorgeous views, we saw glaciers on both sides, spotted a sea otter, some seals, and orka whales. We watched the sunset off of our balcony, which was lovely.

While on the ship, we became fast friends with another family, and was able to spend our days at sea with them. We ventured to karaoke, had afternoon tea, and attended lectures together, as well as enjoyed many meals together. They are a great family, and we hope to spend more vacations with them in the future.

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